Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Impressions: Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibōken (SFC)

Received: June 9th, 2012 / Written: June 12th, 2012

Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibōken

Year: 1994 | Developed by: GRC | Published by: Tomy |[O]

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What a beautiful attraction!

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Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse has starred in a lot of video games back in the '90s, and there were only a few of them that remained Japan-exclusive, including Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibōken for the Super Famicom, which takes place in Disneyland. I've never been to Disneyland before, but I've always heard great things about that place, and I hope I get to visit it someday. I first heard of this game on RVGFanatic's website on his Obscure SFC Hub section years ago, and from what I've read about it back then it had me real interested. Flashforward a few years later, and I would finally experience Mickey's adventure in Tokyo Disneyland, and honestly, I ended up liking it a lot in the end.﻿﻿

You should see this rollercoaster, it'smarvelous!!

Mickey and friends decide to head out and have fun at Disneyland one day, and while they're there something terrible happens. Mickey's informed by Minnie that Pete has kidnapped the rest of his companions, so he sets out to find and rescue them in the iconic segments of Disneyland. On his journey Mickey brings a combo water/air balloon pack so he can get around, for there many obstacles to face. By holding down the X button, you'll be filling your balloon with air, and should you fill up the G gauge, you'll be floating upward until the gauge becomes empty. You can let go of the balloon by releasing the X button; if you do it while ducking, then the balloon will rise up all on its own, but should you do it while floating, then Mickey will propel himself into the air in whichever direction you choose (just bear in mind how much of the G gauge you've got left). By holding down the Y button, Mickey will fill a balloon with water, which is the essential weapon against enemies and bosses. Throwing the water balloon with the W gauge full will have a greater impact on enemies than if you do it early. If you want, you could also place the full water balloon on the ground while ducking in order to use it as a temporary trampoline. Experimenting is key. Each location looks really good and detailed, for they all have a nice visual look, feel, and charm. The first area is pirate-themed, with cool backdrops abound, neat settings, and a beautiful starry sky in the penultimate portion. The third area is water-themed, and I feel it displays a great amount of atmosphere, for it at first takes place in a cave, and then afterwards we see the outside, which looks very great, not to mention there are a few moments where Mickey will be log-riding (if not swimming), which adds to the fun. The fifth stage takes place in a futuristic-like space environment, and is very effective because it's so surreal; there are transporters, space cadets trying to stop you, cutely-designed robotic enemies, incredibly detailed inside locations, all culminating in a rollercoaster ride under a gorgeous night sky. Basically, all the areas have such a great amount of appeal, for they're incredibly memorable and charming. The background music does a great job at complementing each location so perfectly, because it creates a very fitting atmosphere.

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"Gosh, Goofy, when did we startlearning Japanese?"

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One thing I should mention is that Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibōken is very difficult for a Disney-themed game, and that's largely attributed to the fact that the controls are less than stellar. Jumping takes a bit of practice to get right, Mickey swims a little slowly (though you can still walk or run underwater), and there's the matter of proper timing when it comes to propelling into the air (in several cases, it's highly mandatory). There are only a few occasions where you have to propel yourself a few times into (and while in) the air until you reach your target. Letting go at just before the opportune moment will send you to the ground (or to instant death), so you have to make sure the gauge is full before launching yourself to the sky. However, it's best to hold a direction of a button before you propel yourself, for if you release the X button without holding a direction, then you'll drop down. There's also a breath gauge for whenever you're submerged in the water, for the longer you stay, the slowly the gauge begins to decrease. If it gets empty, you won't die, but you will lose one hit point and then the gauge refills itself (same case for if spikes or enemies damage you). Reaching the surface at any time will completely fill the gauge until you go back in the water. The controls aren't terrible, for they can be managed with enough time and practice, but they could've been benefited with more polish. Another factor that adds to the difficulty are the area designs. Some areas are designed so notoriously, that it's hair-raising at best. A few stage portions are long, and the final stage is one of the most frustrating areas I've ever been in! I mean, damn! Using the balloon and propelling yourself at exactly the right moment is an absolute must in here, particularly on Stage 6-3, which is infuriating in terms of design and challenge. The consolation to the final stage is that there is a big payoff at the end, where you get to combat Pete in a room fashioned to pay homage to the (in my opinion) underrated 1985 animated movie The Black Cauldron (can you imagine my surprise when I noticed that and entered the room for the first time?). If that's not enough to make the situation exciting, then the fight itself and the epic music that accompanies it is, making it the best final boss fight I've yet experienced in a Disney game. Some of the game's challenge is commendable, but other times it can be proven to be otherwise, which makes it the most challenging Mickey Mouse game I've ever played and beaten; not even Mickey's Wild Adventure, the PAL-exclusive PlayStation adaptation of Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse, can touch this. There are three difficulty modes in Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibōken; on Easy you start with a health of eight (represented by small balloons), on Normal you have a health of five, and on Hard three (though in the latter two, you can raise your health if you find some health power-ups). There are a few obstacles added in the area if you play on either Normal or Hard that makes things a little harder, but otherwise there's not much difference between the modes. The boss fights are nice (even though they're largely against Pete), and there are a few instances of slowdown here and there, but not enough to detract the enjoyment. In each cutscene Mickey converses with a friend (one of them is even Scrooge McDuck), and even though the dialogue is in Japanese, it's all right, because it's a platformer, and it only occurs during the cutscene; though I must confess I do wish I knew what it would translate to. For all the flaws it has, it's got a lot of good going for it. The selected areas are wonderful to behold, the animations are decent, it's very charming, and the battle with Horned Pete is awesome! Depending on what difficulty setting you play, you'll see a varied ending scene, with Hard mode displaying the full ending, which makes the experience rewarding. The controls could have been tweaked a bit, and some area designs are better left not mentioned, but regardless, I had fun with Mickey's Tokyo Disneyland adventure, and in the end I thought it was good. GRC did a nice job.

I LPed the game on Youtube. And yes, I agree that the game is good. The balloon system was a rather inventive idea to say the least, and Mickey didn't have any movement speed problems.

I do agree that the controls and level design could have used polish. Controls, improve the swimming big time and maybe fix up the gas balloon usage a bit. Level design, let's see the noteworthy flaws:*Pete fights has Pete having invincibility frames all over the place, such that the only way Pete takes damage is if he flinches. (Ghost Pete, however, is still fun, as you're rewarded for understanding how to use balloons for combat.)*1-1 has Mimic monsters in inobvious locations.*2-2 has those ^&%*#&%$#* vultures in aggravating positions that bring up the Continuing is Painful problem.*4-1 highlights the issues with gas balloon controls.*6-1's ice segment is just tedious in general.*6-3's massive jump, enough said.

Yeah, sorry about that, the game is good, just that I couldn't help but complain about those issues.